U.S. Chamber Foundation Celebrates Financial Inclusion Week

At the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation we believe that financial inclusion is an important prerequisite for economic and social progress. It is indeed alarming that 2 billion people in the world still do not have access to formal financial services. Through greater financial inclusion, poor individuals and small businesses in the United States and globally, are able to generate income, accumulate assets, smooth consumption, and withstand risks.

With this in mind, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Corporate Citizenship Center is taking part in financial inclusion week from October 17-21. This week, stakeholders across the globe will organize and participate in conversations and features, online and off-line exploring the most important steps to achieving full financial inclusion, a state in which everyone has access to a full suite of quality financial services, provided at affordable prices, in a convenient manner.

As part of this effort, we will be and highlighting distinct examples of leadership in this area from companies including Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, Metlife and SABMiller. These companies are advancing financial inclusion with continuous product and business model innovation and unique ways to improve capability, so that more people can access a broader range of products at lower costs.

Although governments and nongovernmental organizations traditionally led the charge on development challenges, the private sector has been at the forefront of accelerating the inclusion of underserved populations in the financial system. The private sector recognizes that investments in financial inclusion can also improve market prospects in the future.

In 2017, we also plan to play a larger role in the area of financial inclusion in helping global businesses innovate by addressing gaps in financial capability, design thinking, and delivery.

Our programs will have a global as well as a domestic focus. While the finance gap is most acute in the developing world, communities and businesses across the U.S. also lack adequate access to finance or have limited financial literacy skills.

We will partner with companies at the forefront of financial inclusion as well as engage nonprofits, community development finance institutions, financial technology companies, multilaterals, and governments to advance a multi-stakeholder approach to identify, test and scale the next generation of financial service products and support services to promote financial inclusion globally.